A prominent theme of neo-pragmatist thinking is that once we give up a certain representationalist conception of the relation between language and the world, many or even most of the characteristic concerns of philosophy will lapse. Among these are questions about how notions of everyday life such as meaning and value fit into a natural world (so-called ‘placement problems’). This line of thought is prominent in the work of Richard Rorty and, more recently, Huw Price. In this talk I critically examine Rorty’s and Price’s arguments against placement metaphysics from a rejection of representationalism. I will then discuss the implications of anti-representationalism for alternative or broader conceptions of what metaphysics might be.

Abstract: The origin of Spinoza’s philosophizing is the ethical dissatisfaction with ordinary life and its values. An ordinary life, for Spinoza, is prone is bondage to the passions, as it is a life dominated by the pursuit of transitory goods like honor, sensual pleasure and wealth. According to Spinoza, human happiness and wellbeing do not lie in ordinary life. Rather, the good human life is a life according to the order of the intellect. This is because for Spinoza there is an intrinsic relationship between the pursuit of understanding and the pursuit of the good life, where the latter consists in increasing the power of the mind over the passions and, thereby, becoming free and virtuous. Life according to the order of the intellect is marked by two ways of understanding (adequate knowledge) according to Spinoza’s taxonomy of knowledge [cognitio] in the Ethics: reason (ratio) and intuitive knowledge (scientia intuitiva). In this paper, I give an account of the transition from ordinary life to life according to the order of the intellect with a particular emphasis on intuitive knowledge, which Spinoza describes as the source of the highest human happiness. While reason has received much attention from Spinoza scholars with regard to its power and limits in restraining the passions, the power of intuitive knowledge vis-à-vis the passions has been largely overlooked. Drawing on this neglected aspect of Spinoza’s thought, I propose that the above mentioned transition (a) is achieved by way of a transformative ascent that culminates in intuitive self-knowledge—i.e. adequate knowledge of our own essence as it directly follows from God’s essence, and (b) consists in a change in perspective that helps us to reorder our desires and, consequently, become less prone to harmful passions in this life.

Animal Politics: Theory and Practice

The symposium is organised by the Animal Politics Foundation (APF), the foundation that organises and coordinates the international activities of the Party for the Animals.
Contact details:info@animalpoliticsfoundation.nl

‘Bioethics is a field of interdisciplinary research between philosophy, science, and medicine. With the increasing reach of medical technology and its impact on human life, doctors and other healthcare professionals have become increasingly compelled to confront novel medical ethical dilemmas (e.g., brain death concept). A growing sensitivity to animal suffering and the detrimental impact of human activities on the biosphere have led to a revaluation of ethical issues regarding non-human life forms, too. Often the same sources for bioethics are being interpreted in diametrically opposed ways, while attitudes deriving from different traditions can cause conflict in pluralistic societies (e.g., veganism among Muslims during Kurban Bayramı). We will look at the state of practical bioethical debates in Turkey today from the perspective of different theoretical approaches.’